Topic: Amazon

After being bought by online retailer Amazon, digital comics platform ComiXology has discontinued its legacy iOS application and issued an entirely new release that lacks a digital storefront, allowing the company to avoid Apple's 30 percent cut of in-app purchases.

A series of snapshots hit the web Tuesday showing what is alleged to be a prototype of Amazon's upcoming first-party smartphone, with a 4.7-inch display and 6 cameras that are said to power a unique three-dimensional user interface.

When Amazon launched its Fire TV earlier this month, the company positioned casual gaming as one of the set-top streamer's "bonus" features. In this review follow-up, AppleInsider picks up the controller to find out if mobile gaming is ready for the living room.

The set-top streaming business got a little more crowded when Amazon announced the Fire TV last week. With voice-activated search, predictive content loading and a gaming "bonus feature," the Internet retail giant is positioning its new device as a cure-all usability for problems plaguing existing products.

Analyst Gene Munster, who has long held out hope for a more fully functional Apple TV and even a full television set from the company, believes that Wednesday's launch of the Amazon fireTV should serve as further motivation for Apple to make major moves in the television space.

Already a content creator and seller, Amazon will now enter the set-top box business with the new $99 fireTV, launching today with video streaming and gaming capabilities, taking on the likes of the Apple TV, Roku, and Chromecast.

Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo have begun the process of handing out $166 million in account credits to consumers affected by the e-books price fixing scandal as notification emails began going out on Tuesday.

Launch preparations for Amazon's long-awaited entry into the streaming set-top box market are nearly complete, as the e-commerce giant is said to have begun distributing preproduction hardware to select developers ahead of an early April debut to take on the Apple TV, a new report says.

Amazon's Prime service, which offers free streaming video and book borrowing to Apple iOS device users, has seen its annual price increase from $79 per year to $99 per year, while student members will also see a price hike.

Amazon recently initiated discussions with major music labels in an effort to kickstart a streaming service for its paying Prime members, one report says, possibly signaling the entry of yet another service into the crowded Internet radio space.

Internet retail giant Amazon is reportedly planning to preempt Apple's rumored springtime Apple TV refresh with an Android-powered set-top box of its own -- and the device could go on sale as soon as next month.

The rate of device activations for Apple more than doubled on Christmas Day this year, though the real winner was Amazon, whose low-margin Kindle devices saw a 24-fold surge in new devices for the single day.

Black Friday has brought an assortment of software deals from Apple's AppStore and third parties, and AppleInsider is also offering an exclusive, lowest-price ever on the No. 1 selling speech-to-text software, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3.0, as well as the R/C Micro Drone 2.0 + Aerial Camera.

Amazon is getting a head start on the competition by launching its Black Friday deals a full five days early, promising new bargains every 10 minutes throughout the week. Here's a quick preview of some of the sales the online retailer will be offering.

Apple's iOS platform is widely considered to have the best mobile application ecosystem, and a new analysis of the App Store comparing it to Google Play for Android and the Amazon Appstore for Kindle Fire supports the notion that Apple remains head and shoulders above the competition.

Amazon has partnered with a number of Asian compact camera module makers for advanced sensors that could allow 3D gesture and eye tracking input on a new smartphone launching next year, AppleInsider has been told.